Page 14

C laiming the wingback chair, I let her sit on the bed. We stare at each other for at least a full minute before I gesture for her to continue from where we left off. I still need a second longer before I can talk. My voice locked up as soon as I got a whiff of her. She took a shower while I was out doing club president duty. I’ve smelled her before, sure, but… not sure if it’s just this trip, or if this is her actual scent and the other was the fake Wendi she personified. It’s intoxicating.

It took almost all my willpower to keep walking when I passed her in the bathroom and not sink my nose into her neck and take deep breaths before I nibbled on her delicate skin. The curve of a woman’s neck can be so damn sexy.

“Right.” She teeters on her hands, which she’s sitting on, and it should annoy me, but of course, it doesn’t. So much about her should piss me off, but it doesn’t. I’m finding it all endearing. I especially like it when she goes into game mode. Like now. No more wiggling, just a take-charge attitude that comes in when she crosses her legs and rests her hands on her lap.

“First off, C8 would appreciate it if you refrained from the removal of any more clothes without taking the cameras off first. While we can afford new ones, I have to account for each expense on this trip, and I’d rather keep the paperwork to a minimum.”

Biting my cheek, I hold my laughter in. Barely. The hard glare she gives me lets me know she caught it. I cough to clear my throat. “Noted. What else?”

“I would also appreciate being told beforehand of the plan so I can keep my reactions to a script.” She holds up a hand before I finish opening my mouth in protest. “I get that it’s not always an option, but when it’s something big, like maybe changing the whole venue, I would like to be looped in.”

I nod in acquiescence. From a tactical standpoint, it makes the most sense. I have to stop treating Billy as if she’s the enemy. Even take a bit of my own advice that I just got done giving to Bane, that she can be trusted.

It might seem crazy to not be over all of this by now, but I’m not. I want to be. I do. With a mission, I give it my all. And that’s not what I’m doing here. Half of me is in, while the other half is still plotting means of revenge. If she can lie and withhold things, then so can I.

But that’s petty and more childish than I usually get. The boys elected me as president for many things. One being that I’m the type to see the bigger picture and not just focus on my own hurt. Like I’m doing now.

“Truth is, I know nothing about you. Nothing more than that you’re part of some group that calls themselves the Crazy Eights. You’re rumored to work with others only long enough for them to do your dirty work. Some even say you turn on them after. Your company’s track record alone makes you questionable by association.”

“If it helps, those we’ve pitted against themselves were never the actual client. We let them think that just so we could get the intel we wanted or to use them. My company isn’t afraid to get our hands wet, but if we can have someone else do it first, it saves on paperwork.”

“Y’all planning on using my club?” I speak methodically and raise one eyebrow. I’ll kill her here and now with my own hands if I suspect she’s lying.

She shakes her head and holds my stare. “Only in a partnership. I’m not Charles, but I’ve worked with her enough to believe she wants more out of the connection than you think.”

“Like what?”

She shrugs. “Not sure. But it would make sense to form some type of partnership. Your club has become a bigger player in the mercenary gig of late. You follow the same rules as C8—you pick jobs you want and not just for the cash influx. It would be smart to team up, even have a lifeline set up to call in the other for backup when things get heated and we need the help. For both sides, I mean.”

I hum out a response. Got to admit, I never saw that as a possibility, but I don’t hate the idea. Might just be fluff, but even then, Billy is making sense. Her group gets overlooked. Even we looked past them, and we’ve got some paranoid peeps in our house. Their name makes the stir, not the people in it. Mad Max’s uncle-in-law, Jimmy Travis, is even worried about her company from the name alone. I doubt the former CIA boogeyman knows who they are, but he respects them enough not to mess with them. Having that type of power in a name is something every club aims for. Having them team up with OHH— Operation Hell Hound, our mercenary side biz—doesn’t seem like a terrible idea.

If I can see that as a possibility, then I need to treat this like a trial run. The successful completion of this mission, if Billy and I can work through our issues, could make me more willing to take that next step. If it’s all true and Billy isn’t just blowing more smoke up my ass.

I chew on my thoughts for half a second more before saying “fuck it” to myself. C8 knows a lot about the club and me. Sure, they sneaked in and got the intel, but it’s a moot point now. I might not have a dossier on Billy, but I know a few things. Things that have me opening my mouth and giving her the olive branch she wants.

“Bane was the guy who introduced me to the lifestyle. He knows me, more so than a lot of the other brothers. I wasn’t planning on telling other chapters what’s going on, but your people picked this spot, his territory. If a chapter president walks into a place like that, people are bound to talk, especially the mother chapter’s president. I might not wear the club’s vest, but you can’t hide my tats. Some are unique enough that they get people talking, and Bane would have pieced it together. I also trust him. I’ve worked with him for a while now. I might follow along on this mission, but I’m not about to put the club in jeopardy for you and yours. It took a lot for the boys to let me come here. And let is the big word out of that. We hold the club in the highest regard, and the presidents of each chapter get that as well. But the mother chapter? We just lost an icon who isn’t even cold in his grave, and now I’m risking it all again for a group we barely know and don’t even trust.”

She opens her mouth, but I’m not done yet. “So, of course I changed things up to get me back on solid ground. Not to say ‘fuck you’ but to protect me, the one the club is looking to for a future. I don’t think myself high and mighty, but I respect the position enough to play it safe. The club can’t afford to take another heavy hit like we did recently. Maybe never. Losing Law is being felt in every corner we have. It wasn’t easy becoming a club president, much less the president of everyone. Not sure if you get biker politics, but not only does the local chapter vote, but on something like this, other sister chapters have a say too. I have eyes on my back now more than ever. And I accept those eyes, along with giving my respect to those who are willing to back me in this position. And that includes letting the local chapter president know I’m in town and staying at their clubhouse as a sign of respect. Not as a jab to you but a salute to my club.”

Now it’s her turn to nod, sighing heavily before she runs her hand through her hair to push it off her face. “Yeah, I can get that.”

A beat passes between us, both lost in our own thoughts, till she disturbs the quiet.

“Where do we go from here?”

“We start over.” I put my hand out and grin. “Hi, my name’s Casper, mother chapter president of the Hounds of the Reaper. I like my steak medium rare and take a beer over whiskey any day of the week. Got a taste for the simple life, but I’m not afraid to get it messy. I also have a small Dom complex and like to make my subs beg for release.”

“And apparently you’re full of jokes too.” She rolls her eyes, and I drop my hand. It works in the movies; figured it was worth a shot here. “That was cute and all, but we have a life on the line and not enough time to get to a point of starting over. Even if we did, you still wouldn’t completely trust me. It’s fine. Our past isn’t how we’re defined. It only shapes our thoughts. It’s our actions that show our true colors.”

“Wise and pretty. Not a bad combo.” I pay the compliment and enjoy watching the blush spread over her checks. What she says makes sense. “All right, what do you suggest?”

“An in-between.”

“And that is?”

“Communication for a start. And not just grunts that I’m expected to understand. We talk. We figure out a plan together, and we attack the problem as one. I get that we both have a side reason for being here. But outside these four walls, it’s just us against the world, so to speak. Sure, this is a sister chapter of your club, but can you really say you trust everyone here the way you can back home?”

I don’t even hesitate to shake my head.

“Exactly. I’ve worked with a few of the other C8s, but it’s always been Jack beside me. Half the reason they pulled her out of the field to run comms was because she knows my mind better than anyone.”

“What’s the other half?”

Her lips twitch a second before she looks down to pick at the sleep pants she put on after her shower. Her hair is still damp and falls over her shoulders. Wouldn’t be an issue except it’s causing those delectable nipples of hers to push out, pulling my focus more than once since we started hashing this all out. With the bent head, it pulls her hair back, allowing less of her hair to cover her tits. Sure, they’re behind a cotton Blink-182 shirt, but it does nothing compared to my memory.

Small compared to some vamps at our place. Betting a solid B cup, maybe pushing C, if I had to guess. They look soft yet firm. And perfect nipple displacement.

“She tends to get into trouble when I’m not around.”

I rub my face hard, then push down on my cock as I adjust in my seat. I need to keep my fucking head in the game. The big one, not the one still thinking about Billy’s amazing breasts and wondering if they taste and feel as awesome as they look.

“What, does she go on a rampage or something when you’re not there?” I say it as a joke, more to get me back in the thinking game than anything else.

“Exactly.” She looks up at me, and I’m drawn to her classic looks and jade eyes. She’s like a fucking siren, just begging to pull me in closer. “Last time, she took down four people on her own. They had to go, but we usually try to keep the burning down of city blocks limited when we can.”

“Because of the paperwork, right?” My joke hits the target as she nods and smiles. “Okay,” I stand because I need to move. “I didn’t brief Bane, but I think we should. At least enough that he knows we’re looking for someone. The guy has worked at a lot of sex clubs. He’s only been at this one for about two years now. Around six months ago, management changed, he said, but that was all he knew. He might know more that he isn’t saying. Like with us, trusting goes both ways. He might trust me, but I think giving him enough details to get him to trust you, too, so we can get more details is the smart play.”

“I take it that you can’t just order him to tell you? You know, the whole perks of being the big boss and all?”

I huff out a laugh. “I wish. The guy has a duty to his own, and I’m not about to make him choose between me and his club.”

She nods as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “Okay, I’ll get with Jack and see if there’s anything specific we can pull in to show we aren’t as bad as our name might make us out to believe. How long do you want to stay here for? I get the respect thing, but being on-site will gain us access to things we can’t see from here.”

“Agreed. Bane says most guests arrive on Thursdays and stay the weekend. Figured we can head back in two days. Got him already working to secure us a new room. Comped, of course.” I wink as I dig on her company’s policy for paperwork and receipts. I never worried about it before I became president. Sure, I knew we had a payroll account and that Domino and Law did it, but I never wanted to stumble down the rabbit hole to figure it out till I had to. Now, Domino’s trying to show me how to run the spreadsheets to double-check the numbers to keep in line with the club’s two review processes. But it sucks ass. Didn’t like doing paperwork in the military, don’t like doing it now.

Just the thought of it makes me want to pull myself out of my office and into the field like this more and more.

“What was that for?”

“Huh?”

“You grimaced. What were you thinking? Should we be worried about going back into the sex club? Did you see something that makes you hesitant or that you don’t want to do? If it’s about dominating me in public, I get it. We can just watch like we did tonight.”

I snort. “Oh, trust me, I’ve got no problem when it comes to domination or you. Only problem I see in that department is enjoying it a little too much.”

Her squeak has me realizing what I said. I don’t regret it—it’s the truth—but maybe not the best time to bring it up.

“It’s the thought of spreadsheets.” She tilts her head in confusion at my words, and I shrug. “The club has our own version of paperwork too. And the thought of going back home and trying to figure it all out makes my head hurt.”

“If this goes well, maybe I can help you out. I’m kind of good at the paperwork part of the job.”

Someone might see her words as a peace offering. Others might think it’s just a tactic to gain more knowledge of the inner workings of the club. I take it as an option to see more of her after this. Good, bad, indifferent—not sure how I feel about it.

I guess it all depends on the outcome of this mission. Whether we get fucked… or just fuck.